A review on the utilization of waste pineapple crown into value-added products

The pineapple is the most consumed fruit in the world, although its crown is discarded as waste. However, these pineapple crowns (PaCn) are rich in bioactive compounds and chemicals, offering vast potential for applications in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food and beverages, biofuels, bioplastics, paper and pulp products, etc. The previous review reports on the subject examined the development of sustainable materials derived from different pineapple wastes, i.e., peel, core, crown, and pomace in the bioenergy and other industrial sectors. However, they have not focused on application materials derived from waste PaCn. Hence, there is a scope for exploring the different application materials derived from PaCn. This first report thoroughly reviews waste pineapple crowns' industrial potential, possibilities for by-product valorization, and their conversion process. Through the thorough literature review, it is perceived that various industries can derive multiple value-added products from waste PaCn, including 15 application materials such as nano/micro cellulose, activated carbon, enzymes, fibers, vanillic acid, bioadsorbent, regenerative cellulose, renewable aromatic compounds, pharmaceutical chemicals, reducing sugar, bioactive compounds, corrosion inhibitor, bio-oil, composite particles, and mortar. The waste of PaCn conversions has been shown to reduce waste generation, and the products derived from the conversion would support the waste-to-value concept.